A plan to transform an often overlooked gateway into Lexington’s downtown with vibrant and aff ordable mixed-use development could find new energy in the coming weeks, as local property owners look to establish a new TIF district along Midland Avenue.
The TIF, or tax increment financing, designation would enable the capture and use of any newly generated tax dollars within the established district to reimburse developers or the city for funds spent on infrastructure or to finance public improvements.
“TIFs were designed to help disadvantaged areas that otherwise wouldn’t have investments made in them without assistance,” said Phil Holoubek, a downtown developer, entrepreneur, venture investor and president of LRC, a Lexington real estate firm. He has a financial stake in the TIF concept.
Midland Avenue runs from the corner of Main and Vine streets to the intersection of Third Street and Winchester Road. The proposed district includes about 75 contiguous parcels of land with six zoning categories. Currently, it consists mainly of low-income residences; lightly used, deteriorating or abandoned industrial and commercial buildings; and several empty lots.
A proposed TIF development plan states that private investment within the Midland Avenue district “could reach $50 million” and that over a 20-year period, the project “would be expected to support over 800 jobs annually and $1.1 billion in total economic impact.” It went on to estimate that the project could generate $44 million in eligible state and local tax revenues.
Four property owners have banded together to lobby for TIF benefits in order to develop the 31-acre area. Holoubek owns the currently vacant corner on Main Street where Vine Street meets Midland, a location he described as “a very difficult site, with all sorts of utilities and waterways running beneath it.” A CVS pharmacy was at one time slated for the corner but the idea was scrapped, mainly because of infrastructure issues, Holoubek said.
Holoubek’s challenge is to find another building design that fits on the site, is affordable, and doesn’t impede the existing utilities on the site. The design must also accommodate a portion of Town Branch Creek that flows through culverts underneath it.
Holoubek’s current idea for his site is a mixed-use building with 15,000 square feet of retail and restaurants on the ground floor and three floors of apartments above. He would call it Main + Vine, a miniature version of his existing development, Main + Rose, located about a block away.
“We feel very good about where we are heading now,” Holoubek said.
Other property owners in the Midland District include former Lexington vice mayor Mike Scanlon, who owns plots around Midland Avenue, Short Street and Race Street near Thoroughbred Park; and his former wife, Missy Scanlon, who owns land farther down Midland. Additional parcels are owned by Community Ventures Corporation, a local nonprofit economic engine that helps people start businesses or buy homes.
The development plan was reviewed by the city, and formal approval came this past December. Recently, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) also gave preliminary approval to the plan, according to Holoubek.
“The state will tell us what amount of dollars we will be able to recover,” he said. “We have asked for $17 million in infrastructure improvements. It doesn’t go to developers or into the private buildings and you don’t get the money up front. It’s only reimbursed for dollars either you or the city has spent on infrastructure.”
The funding could go for such improvements as a parking garage, street lights, bringing Town Branch to the surface as part of a linear park or even totally revamping Midland Avenue itself.
Holoubek thinks Midland Avenue isn’t very pedestrian-friendly because it’s too wide, and the traffic speeds are too fast.
“We want off -street bicycle lanes, pedestrian crosswalks, narrower travel lanes, slower speeds, on-street parking and burial of power lines,” he said.
Thoroughbred Park could be altered to some degree, and if Town Branch Creek reappears along the street, it could possibly connect to the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden and the Legacy Trail, Holoubek said. Community Ventures encouraged community engagement to discuss how its site would be developed this past spring during several neighborhood meetings held at William Wells Brown Elementary School.
“The architect is currently designing the building that will be proposed for the Third and Midland area, and as soon as we have the design, we’ll take it back to the neighborhood,” said Kevin Smith, president and CEO at Community Ventures.
Holoubek’s more complicated site development plan has also been completed, and architectural design is ongoing. The properties owned by the Scanlons are expected to be developed at a later date.